In the past few weeks we've spoken with a number of bands and artists. Don't miss out on these interviews:
Punknews content is syndicated to a handful of your favorite social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Join our Last.fm group and contribute your listening habits to our weekly charts. All of our high definition video footage can be found at Vimeo.
Here's your question and answer of the week from the Punknews Formspring:
Q: What's your take on TV shows such as American Idol and The Voice?A: I think they are stupid but harmless. I mean, the music on those shows is trite, over produced, and just generally lame. But, it's not like those shows stop people from making good music. If people enjoy watching it, what do I care?
Someone once argued that the shows are harmful because they create a false view of how to be successful in the music industry. But, my opinion is that if you are foolish enough to think that you can actually become a superstar by appearing on american idol, the music world isn't missing much by having your "career" stunted by such goofy show.
I like Nicki Minaj, though. She's cool.
-John G
Of course your day wouldn't be complete without knowing every inane detail of your humble editors' lives. Follow @aubinpaul, @adamwhite, @howtobepunk, @johngentile, @ameliaaacline, @kiraface, @mcflynnthm, @andywritesstuff, @wackymondo, @Brittastrophee and @BrittStrummer's every move at Twitter. A few of the new fathers on staff have even started a punk dad blog.
Where else are you online? Share your links below and keep connected with the Punknews community.
Check out the Punknews Music page to stream all sorts of new music from recent or upcoming releases. Our latest additions include:
We've also expanded our podcast empire to something that will eventually resemble a network. Be sure to check out the original Punknews Podcast (subscribe via RSS or iTunes), Adam's Ontario showcase Some Party (subscribe via RSS or iTunes), and Greg Simpson and Greg Moore's Two Gregs One Podcast.
Hello everyone and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back in the week in Punknews. I'm Brittany Strummer and I'll be your guide through some of the juiciest, most popular and otherwise noteworthy stories from the last seven days. Remember, every Punknews story is built from tips from our wonderful, good-looking readers, so get to submitting. Here's what got the strange, slow and old community talking this week:
With that, we hand over this Sunday evening to the Punknews community, where anything is possible, from the next amusing-then-overwrought meme, to the creation of bands and message boards, to alienating sports chatter. So talk amongst yourselves, spin some tracks in the Navel Gazing turntable.fm room and we'll see you Monday morning.
In the past few weeks we've spoken with a number of bands and artists. Don't miss out on these interviews:
Punknews content is syndicated to a handful of your favorite social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Join our Last.fm group and contribute your listening habits to our weekly charts. All of our high definition video footage can be found at Vimeo.
Here's your question and answer of the week from the Punknews Formspring:
Q: How long have you been into punk rock?A: Oh, I've been "punkin it up" (as the kids say) for about 15 years now. I'm 30, so as of this year, for 50% of my life I've been cognizant of punk. I got into a different way than most people I think. it seems that most people were introduced to punk via their older siblings or friends (or, as is becoming more common, through their parents… eek!) At the time, none of my friends were into punk (and most still aren't) and my relatives weren't even really into music at all. (My mom used to constantly play the promo cassette tape that came with her station wagon. I remember that it had "Time After Time" on it).
I got into punk because I used to be a member of the CD mailorder company, BMG music club. I ordered The Clash on Broadway because it was on sale for $15 (plus BMG's insane shipping prices) and I thought The Clash were an 80's group like Men at Work or A-Ha.
I was wrong. BEST SCREW UP EVER. Strangely, at first, I liked disc 3 the best, which was mostly Combat Rock the best, then disc one, which was the earliest singles and first lp, and then disc 2, which was mostly London Calling. It's weird how your brain hears sounds differently when you haven't been exposed to an entire form of music. I'll never forget pulling up to my friend Chris' house for a high school party blaring "London's Burning." I'm sure I looked like a tool but I thought I looked awesome. I'll never forget Kathy Davis giving me a look of disgust and spitting, "What IS that?" And I was like, "THE CLASH, DUH!" Without question, it was my finest moment as a human being.
How did you brohabs all get into punk? Let us share stories and lock arms as we cherish the discovery of learning about punk for the first time.
-John G
Of course your day wouldn't be complete without knowing every inane detail of your humble editors' lives. Follow @aubinpaul, @adamwhite, @howtobepunk, @johngentile, @ameliaaacline, @kiraface, @mcflynnthm, @andywritesstuff, @wackymondo, @Brittastrophee and @BrittStrummer's every move at Twitter. A few of the new fathers on staff have even started a punk dad blog.
Where else are you online? Share your links below and keep connected with the Punknews community.
Hello everyone and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back in the week in Punknews. I'm Brittany Strummer and I'll be your guide through some of the juiciest, most popular and otherwise noteworthy stories from the last seven days. Remember, every Punknews story is built from tips from our wonderful, good-looking readers, so get to submitting. Here's what got the strange, slow and old community talking this week:
With that, we hand over this Sunday evening to the Punknews community, where anything is possible, from the next amusing-then-overwrought meme, to the creation of bands and message boards, to alienating sports chatter. So talk amongst yourselves, spin some tracks in the Navel Gazing turntable.fm room and we'll see you Monday morning.
In the past few weeks we've spoken with a number of bands and artists. Don't miss out on these interviews:
Punknews content is syndicated to a handful of your favorite social networks, including Twitter, Facebook and Tumblr. Join our Last.fm group and contribute your listening habits to our weekly charts. All of our high definition video footage can be found at Vimeo.
Here's your question and answer of the week from the Punknews Formspring:
Q: The Clash or the Pistols?A: Ah yes, THE timeless punk debate. Perhaps there is no other worthier debate in this existence (except maybe Clash v. Ramones or Misfits v. Black Flag). This one is a tough call.
These days, people love to show how punx they are by dismissing the Sex Pistols, but that is a shortsighted, foolish, and uninformed view. The fact is, The Sex Pistols were so incredible at the time that the entire Western World had not seen the likes of them before. The Stooges had long since been forgotten, The Ramones were regional NY (and probably not as shocking) and then comes along the Pistols. Remember, at the time Fleetwood Mac, Barry Manilow, The Eagles, and Captain and Tenielle were #1 on the chart singing calm music about nothing.
Then, all of a sudden, Johnny Rotten shows up singing about anarchy, abortions, drugs, and truly scaring society. Meanwhile, Steve Jones and Glen Matlock kick out some of the gnarliest, sharpest rifts ever written. A lot of people like to say "The Sex Pistols songs weren't that good." BULLSHIT. The Sex Pistols' tunes were AWESOME, hard, fast, energetic, snappy numbers that blow most of todays "org-core" and other wimpy genres hat are popular out of the water. (Some org-core is good, though).
Pretty much every punk band there is attacks the presidents or comments on politics. Why? THE PISTOLS. With the exception of maybe the Ramones, the Sex Pistols are the most influential punk band ever. Either through attraction or repulsion, Sex Pistols influenced The Clash, Joy Division, The Smiths, Crass, Henry Rollins, GWAR, Slayer, etc etc etc. By virtue of that, every single and that deals with politics or expresses a rejection of society in punknews, razorcake, max rnr- all of those bands can be traced back to the Sex Pistols.
Hell, the Sex Pistols were THE first punk band to attack a political leader directly. You can thank them for that.
To dismiss them just shows how many people in "punk" are scared to really admit where a good deal of their thought has come from. Also, John Lydon is hilarious and just bucks every expectation put before him. Now THAT's punk.
The Sex Pistols are sooooo good. They rule.
By contrast, the Clash weren't as shocking- though they were kind of shocking. Even the Clash were influenced by the Pistols. But, where the Sex Pistols exploded in one big bang, the Clash had longevity and experimentation.Every single Clash album is way different then the one before it. Where many bands were trying to copy the first Clash album, The Clash had already moved onto the next thing. Reggae dubs? Check. Dance music? Check. Hip Hop? Check. Allen Ginsberg reading weird poetry? Check.
In the 80's when punk was developing a certain sound that tended to define the genre, that in doing so, showed that perhaps punk was not as radical as everyone thought, the Clash moved away from three chord smashers into something weirder, more experimental, and perhaps even more rewarding. Combat Rock is often cited as a pop album, but if you listen to "Red Angel Dragnet", "Atom Tan", and "Straight to Hell", you'll actually find it may be their most challenging release to date.
Plus, usually, the Clash were awesome live. Sometimes the Sex Pistols were great, sometimes not.
But man, when both of those bands were on, they were ON.
So, it's a tough call for sure, but I have to give it to the Clash by a hair, simply because they have a larger catalogue of fantastic music.
An even tougher question? The entirety of the Joe Strummer discography v. The entirety of the John Lydon discography.
-John G
Of course your day wouldn't be complete without knowing every inane detail of your humble editors' lives. Follow @aubinpaul, @adamwhite, @howtobepunk, @johngentile, @ameliaaacline, @kiraface, @mcflynnthm, @andywritesstuff, @wackymondo, @Brittastrophee and @BrittStrummer's every move at Twitter. A few of the new fathers on staff have even started a punk dad blog.
Where else are you online? Share your links below and keep connected with the Punknews community.
Hello everyone and welcome to Navel Gazing: your look back in the week in Punknews. I'm Brittany Strummer and I'll be your guide through some of the juiciest, most popular and otherwise noteworthy stories from the last seven days. Remember, every Punknews story is built from tips from our wonderful, good-looking readers, so get to submitting. Here's what got the strange, slow and old community talking this week:
With that, we hand over this Sunday evening to the Punknews community, where anything is possible, from the next amusing-then-overwrought meme, to the creation of bands and message boards, to alienating sports chatter. So talk amongst yourselves, spin some tracks in the Navel Gazing turntable.fm room and we'll see you Monday morning.